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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23107948">The In-Between</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xanavici/pseuds/xanavici'>xanavici</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Gen, Light Angst, Spoilers for Ep 98, ambiguous ending</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:01:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,063</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23107948</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xanavici/pseuds/xanavici</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers for C2Ep98</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fjord falls on The Balleater, and wakes up somewhere new to have a chat with a friend.</p>
<p>AKA What Fjord's up to when he's ded</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The In-Between</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Fjord is floating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He feels water against his back and between his fingers but doesn’t feel the rocking of waves or the pull of the tides.  A thousand miles away he feels rain on his face, and hears screams in his ears, and his chest aches, but… it’s inconsequential right now.  Right now, he’s at peace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fjord, my child, wake up,”  a comforting, matronly, voice whispers in his ear.  It tugs at his thoughts and rumbles through his body.  Why does he know that voice? There’s something he’s forgetting, something important.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wake up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His brow furrows and fingers twitch.  A fog in his mind threatens to scatter his thoughts and he struggles to push through.  The ache in his chest grows. He’s so tired. It would be so easy to take a short rest.  He should do that…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WAKE.  UP.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ache in his chest grows into a searing pain and with a gasp Fjord bolts straight up.  For a moment he’s not sure if his eyes are open or not, but as his vision focuses and a chill spreads across his body, he realises he doesn’t know where he is.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Above him is an endless sky of black.  Around him is an endless ocean of black.  Below him the water ripples from his movements but he can’t feel anything supporting him above the black depths.  He feels his chest and finds a large, deep gash but no blood. Where the fuck is he?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With unsteady movements, Fjord stands up.  He tries to summon Star Razor but nothing appears and the fear starts to well up.  “Hello?” Silence. “Hello? Where am I?” Nothing. Anger starts to replace the fear and the ache in his chest returns.  “Where the fuck am I!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, a single star appears in the sky.  Then another. Then another as the entire black expanse is filled and a face made out of twilight with long hair and kind eyes appears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, my child.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Melora? Where am I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are somewhere in between.  Not there anymore but not quite gone yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There?  Where was I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think hard, Fjord.  Remember.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From below the water a soft point of light starts to rise, and when it reaches Fjord’s feet it explodes outwards.  He stands above a ship being rocked by waves and pelted by rain. No, not just any ship. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Balleater.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  The scene comes closer and he sees Beau screaming, lashing out wildly at anything close enough.  He sees Orly’s body limp on the deck, unmoving. He sees Jester’s serrated lollipop slamming into a sea spawn as she runs forward, panicked.  He sees Veth loading another bolt into her crossbow and diving to the side to hide and line up a shot. He sees Yasha let out a furious battle cry and lift Skingorger up for her next attack.  He sees Caleb fly out from the side of the ship and shoot straight up in the air, face set in stone as a sickly green beam of energy shoots out of his hand. He sees Caduceus, surrounded by beetles, angrier than he’s ever seen before, aim his staff and release a purple beam of corruption as he stands over Fjord’s body.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His dead body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m dead?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mostly, but you have some powerful friends that might be able to fix that.  Depending on if they can act fast enough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The warlock grabs his limp body and waves its hand through the air.  Purple energy shimmers around it and Fjord recognizes the spell from all the times Jester’s cast Dimension Door but before he can begin to panic, the spell is shattered by a wave of orange glyphs.  Thank gods for Caleb.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uk’otoa sent them, right?” asks Fjord, already knowing the answer.  “Finally decided to get his revenge on me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, the serpent couldn’t care less about you.  To him, you are nothing more than a tool he plucked out of the ocean that became unruly and ran away.  But, you stole something of his and he would do anything to get it back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fjord’s hand goes back to his chest.  “The orb? It’s still inside me? I thought it was in the sword, that’s why I threw it in the lava!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was merely a symbol of you having it.  It still resides in you and it’s why he’s so desperate to retrieve your body.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Below him, the warlock grabs his body again and tries to run to the side of the boat, but Caduceus' beetles swarm and slow it down enough for Beau, Yasha their lashes in and finally kill it.  The others easily take care of the remaining monsters and Fjord falls to his knees in relief. They all look battered and bruised but still alive and that’s all that matters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is my fault. All my fault.”  Fjord attempts to reach for his friends but only succeeds in disturbing the image with ripples.  “We were attacked and Orly was killed because of me.” His eyes begin to burn and his vision clouds.  “How am I supposed to protect my friends if I’m the one bringing the danger to us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My child, look at me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fjord looks up and the stars stretch down to cup his face.  A warm breeze chases the chill away from his skin and for a moment, everything feels okay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, your past actions have repercussions that are still coming to fruition, but you have an important decision ahead of you now.  Are you going to let your future be defined by your despair, or are you going to fulfill your promise to protect your family? To protect my seas?  To protect me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I- I don’t-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Choose quickly.”  The hand pulls away and one by one the stars blink out until Fjord is left alone once more.  He grabs at the sides of his head and tries to stave off the chill that’s returned. He needs to protect his family, but he can’t keep bringing danger to their doorstep.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the deck of </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Balleater</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Caduceus pulls out a diamond while Jester cradles his head.  Beau grasps one hand and has it pressed to her forehead while Caleb holds the other one in his lap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Choose quickly.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A soft green glow emanates from Cad’s hands and refracts through the jewel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Choose quickly.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The diamond shatters and without hesitation, Cad pushes the dust into Fjord’s chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Choose-</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Find me on tumblr at: dabbinglitch or cryptidhanzoshimada<br/>Find me on twitter @xanavici</p></blockquote></div></div>
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